COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Saturday's Top 25 Roundup

Associated Press

Published 7:41 pm, Saturday, September 27, 2014

Photo: Gerry Broome

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Florida State's Rashad Greene (80) runs the ball as North Carolina State's Tim Buckley (6) defends during the second half of an NCAA college football game in Raleigh, N.C., Saturday, Sept. 27, 2014. Florida State won 56-41.(AP Photo/Gerry Broome) less

Florida State's Rashad Greene (80) runs the ball as North Carolina State's Tim Buckley (6) defends during the second half of an NCAA college football game in Raleigh, N.C., Saturday, Sept. 27, 2014. Florida ... more

Photo: Gerry Broome

COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Saturday's Top 25 Roundup

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NO. 1 FLORIDA STATE 56

NORTH CAROLINA STATE 41

RALEIGH, N.C. — Jameis Winston threw for 365 yards and four touchdowns in his return from a suspension, and No. 1 Florida State rallied from 17 down to beat North Carolina State 56-41 on Saturday night.

The Heisman Trophy winner directed four straight second-half touchdown drives to help the reigning national champions fight through and extend the nation's longest active winning streak to a program-record 20 games.

Rashad Greene caught 11 passes for 125 yards and the go-ahead score for the Seminoles (4-0, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference), while Karlos Williams ran for three scores — the last with 2:07 left to seal it.

Winston was suspended for making an obscene public comment on campus last week, then watched backup Sean Maguire lead Florida State to an overtime home win over Clemson.

Winston shook off a third-quarter interception to keep the Seminoles pushing forward against the Wolfpack (4-1, 0-1) and Jacoby Brissett.

Brissett, a Florida transfer, threw for 359 yards and three touchdowns in the program's first home game against the nation's No. 1-ranked team. N.C. State led 24-7 after the first quarter and 38-28 midway through the third quarter after Shadrach Thornton's 10-yard scoring run.

But Winston directed a quick 71-yard drive that ended with his 15-yard scoring toss to Jesus Wilson, then capitalized on Brissett's fumble by zipping the ball to Greene for a 42-38 lead with 3:24 left in the third. Williams' 1-yard scoring run made it 49-38 early in the fourth.

NO. 5 AUBURN 45

LOUISIANA TECH 17

AUBURN, Ala. — Nick Marshall threw three touchdown passes and rushed for 105 yards to lead No. 5 Auburn to a 45-17 victory over Louisiana Tech on Saturday.

Marshall completed 10 of 17 passes for 166 yards for the Tigers (4-0), who produced an array of big plays to spark an offense that otherwise sputtered at times. Next up: No. 17 LSU visits to start a stretch against six straight ranked Southeastern Conference teams.

Quan Bray caught a 44-yard touchdown pass and returned a punt 76 yards for another score in a 53-second span of the fourth quarter. Those plays turned a competitive game into a route against the Bulldogs (2-3), who have also lost to No. 4 Oklahoma.

Cameron Artis-Payne rushed for 116 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries for the Tigers.

NO. 8 NOTRE DAME 31

SYRACUSE 15

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Everett Golson completed 25 straight passes, setting a Notre Dame record, and threw for four touchdowns to lead the eighth-ranked Fighting Irish to a 31-15 victory against Syracuse on Saturday night.

Golson’s record-breaking game was far from perfect. The quarterback threw his first two interceptions, including one returned for a touchdown in the fourth quarter by Durell Eskridge. He fumbled the ball away deep in Syracuse territory and bumbled an attempt to spike the ball late in the first half to stop the clock into another giveaway.

A total of five turnovers by the Irish (4-0) allowed Syracuse (2-3) to linger. Terrel Hunt’s 7-yard touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter cut the lead to 21-9.

Golson came right back with a 13-yard touchdown pass to Torii Hunter Jr., son of the major league outfielder. Golson was 32 for 39 for a career-best 362 yards, coming one completion short of matching the FBS record for consecutive completions in a game set by Dominique Davis in 2011 with East Carolina.

The Rebels (4-0) are undefeated through four games for the first time since 1970, overcoming a mistake-riddled performance by the offense and special teams.

NO. 12 GEORGIA 35

TENNESSEE 32

ATHENS, Ga. — Todd Gurley ran for a career-high 208 yards and two touchdowns, including a 51-yarder in the fourth quarter, and No. 12 Georgia rallied to beat Tennessee 35-32 on Saturday.

The lackluster Bulldogs (3-1, 1-1 Southeastern Conference) struggled with the Volunteers (2-2, 0-1) for the second year in a row. Tennessee wouldn’t quit, even after Jalen Hurd fumbled a handoff and Josh Dawson fell on it in the end zone for a Georgia touchdown.

MISSOURI 21

NO. 13 SOUTH CAROLINA 20

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Russell Hansbrough scored two of his three touchdowns in the final 7 minutes and Missouri rallied from 13 points down to beat South Carolina.

The Tigers (4-1, 1-0 Southeastern Conference) trailed 20-7 and managed just 181 yards of offense through three quarters when Maty Mauk began the comeback with passes of 41 yards to Bud Sasser and 26 yards to Wesley Leftwich to South Carolina's 1 before Hansbrough drew them within a score.

After the Gamecocks (3-2, 2-2) went three-and-out on their next series, Missouri was in business again. The Tigers converted two fourth downs in the sequence, including Hansbrough's 1-yard TD run.

The outcome was a sweet turnaround for Missouri, which lost a 17-point lead in the Gamecocks' double-overtime victory last year.

NO. 16 STANFORD 20

WASHINGTON 13

SEATTLE — Kevin Hogan ran for a 5-yard touchdown with 4:29 remaining, and No. 16 Stanford took advantage of a poorly timed fake punt to hold off Washington 20-13 on Saturday.

Hogan and the Cardinal (3-1, 1-1) avoided a potentially costly 0-2 start in Pac-12 play after already losing at home to Southern California.

NO. 17 LSU 63

NEW MEXICO STATE 7

BATON ROUGE, La. — Backup quarterback Brandon Harris led touchdown drives on each of his seven series, sparking No. 17 LSU to a 63-7 rout of New Mexico State on Saturday night.

In vastly outplaying starter Anthony Jennings, Harris may have made himself a candidate to take over as the Tigers’ No. 1 quarterback when LSU (4-1) returns to Southeastern Conference play next Saturday at Auburn.

NO. 19 WISCONSIN 27

SOUTH FLORIDA 10

MADISON, Wis. — Melvin Gordon rushed for 181 yards and two touchdowns, and Wisconsin overcame a sluggish start to beat South Florida.

Gordon scored on carries of seven and 43 yards on the Badgers’ first two drives of the second half after running room finally opened up for the star tailback.

NO. 22 OHIO STATE 50

CINCINNATI 28

COLUMBUS, Ohio — J.T. Barrett passed for 330 yards and four touchdowns and Ezekiel Elliott ran for 182 yards and a score to lead No. 22 Ohio State past Gunner Kiel and Cincinnati 50-28 on Saturday night.

Kiel, the acclaimed passer for the Bearcats (2-1), completed 21 of 32 passes for 352 yards and four scores in a game of wild momentum swings before a stadium-record crowd of 108,362.